Thread: Weekend shooting with the .17 hornet and .17 fireball.

Good mate, was up form Nelson with his son, so packed gear up, to head out Thursday morning, Wed morning on the way to work the Isuzu bighorn seized the engine. "bugger", load everything into the old Suzuki, and head off thur morning, to the foothills of the southern Ruahine ranges.
Meet up at the farm, unloaded sum smoked Marlin into the fridge and freezer,
and had a bit of a sight in on the two .17 cal's, Put a couple water bottles up for mate's son Cole to shoot, duly dispatched at 50, 75 and 100m, righto, off for a look for a rabbit, with the quads, and the 17 hornet, and deer rifle as the odd deer down the river at times.
First deer paddock, Cole shot his first rabbit, at 75m, good shot, of a poor rest,
picked up a few more each, for the afternoon,
Headed back to the Farm house, and a rat was seen on the corn piles, Cole had set for them, it disappeared in behind a 2x6 fence railing but two minutes, latter it stuck its head back over the railing, and started to climb back down to the corn, the .17 hornet barked, and it disappeared again, except this time in a spray of pink mist, just a pelt with a tail and head, gotta love the .17 hornet.
After supper we three went out for a spotlight, mostly for deer, but shot a cat with the .17 fireball, both Cole and D very impressed, with the fireball, the thwak of a hit is very noticeable, and its skins and guts at the same time, no deer seen, drop cole off for bed, and heading out for a bit ore of a spotlight, a dozen rabbits and a couple possums for the effort.
shot a few magpies and plovers, these are fun with the fireball, just a cloud of feathers a FA left to find, and a couple rabbits the next day, and gave the lad a go with a 20ga shotgun, and a few targets in the Dam, and a bit of a hand around the farm,
Had a couple shots, at a rabbit threw the fence, nicked the wire the first shot, and hit it again with the second, cutting it in half, lucky rabbit, back to fix fence before dinner.
Sat, helped out with loading sum cattle into the yards and truck, and muster a few sheep down to the woolshed for drenching, Neither the Lad or his dad, wanted to do much in the afternoon, so I went for a drive to sum old hunting spots and fish down at the river, took the 17 fireball, as a few rabbits down there, managed to hook a trout, but got off after a brief fight, had a wander down on the river, noticed a bit of deer sign, a red stag, a hind, and plenty of fallow prints,
pushed back threw the river, scrub and came out under a big old pine, was close to were I got a Fallow yearling several years back, was standing on the edge of an old dozer track, thinking must been round here, sum place,
"crack", that's odd, wonder what made that, two minutes latter, up pops a head and neck of a fallow deer, up with the rifle, cross hairs on the head, thought better of a front head shot, and dropped the cross hairs down to the throat, and sent the little 25gr H/Point on the way, straight down, another couple black fallow show up, and then bound off, I go check, deer down, and blood is pumping from the wound in the Neck, I put a second shot in the side of the head, as couldn't find the pocket knife, also gives me the chance to see how well the little bullet does, on a close shot, find the knife and clean and gut the small yearling, bullet made it threw to the spine and shattered it, the second head shot did not exit, glad it was a young fallow, and not a big red.

Out for a spot light that night, another dozen or so rabbits, several possums and one hare, with the .17 fireball, cole was dead on, six for six shots, d didn't bother shooting, as if he missed he would never hear the end of it, I picked off a few more, the thwak and results of a 20gr nosler has to be seen to believed, here is a photo, bit gory,
Sunday butcher the deer and a couple lambs, his old man gave us, for helping with the stock over the 3 days,
And head out, for the drive back to new Plymouth. great weekend,